Fighter Jet News

F-35 Lightning II News

GBU news

F-35 News Archive

F-35 completes first live fire missile test
USAF F-35A AF-6 launches an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile on October 30th, 2013 at a target drone over a California test range. Pilot was Air Force test pilot Captain Capt. Logan Lamping. [USAF photo]
Oct 31, 2013 - The F-35 has launched an AIM-120 air-to-air missile marking the first live-fire missile test in the program. [Read more...]
F-35 completes first aerial AMRAAM weapons release
AF-01 releases the F-35 program's first AIM-120 AMRAAM missile over the China Lake test range on flight 255 on October 19th, 2012. Pilot was Maj Matthew 'Fuze' Phillips. [Lockheed Martin photo by Matthew Short]
Oct 22, 2012 - An F-35A test aircraft completed the first aerial weapons release of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) on Oct. 19. [Read more...]
F-35A completes first in-flight JDAM release
USAF test pilot Maj. Eric Schultz in F-35A, AF-1 performs the first successful in-flight weapons release of an inert, instrumented 2,000 pound GBU-31 from the aircraft’s left weapons bay over the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Center ranges, China Lake during a test flight on October 16th, 2012. [Lockheed Martin photo by Tom Reynolds]
Oct 17, 2012 - An F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft completed the first in-flight weapons release of a 2,000 pound GBU-31 BLU-109 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) from a 5th Generation fighter, October 16, 2012. [Read more...]
F-35 completes first airborne weapons separation
The first-ever F-35 weapons release test flight was successfully carried out over the Atlantic Test Range near NAS Patuxent River, Maryland on August 8th, 2012. During flight 224, Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Levin released an inert 1,000-pound GBU-32 JDAM separation test article while flying at 400 knots at an altitude of 4,200 feet in BF-03, the third F-35B test aircraft. [Photo by Andy Wolfe]
Aug 08, 2012 - The F-35 Lightning II accomplished a significant test milestone August, 8 when the aircraft successfully released a weapon in flight. [Read more...]
F-35 marks 200 flights as test program ramps up
AF-1 on its 3rd flight on April 21st, 2010. Pilot was David 'Doc' Nelson. [Lockheed Martin photo]
May 12, 2010 - After a surge of flight test activity the F-35 program completed its 200th test flight last week. On May 5, Graham Tomlison piloted BF-1 for 44 minutes evaluating the jet's flying qualities and airframe loads. [Read more...]
STEM facility conducts F-35 lanyard risk reduction test
SrA Rafael Cratch, right, 46th Maintenance Group munitions load crew specialist, rigs a GBU-12 munition in preparation for a weapon lanyard risk reduction and development test for the F-35 System Development and Demonstration Program. [USAF photo]
Jun 17, 2008 - The 46th TW recently lent a hand to Lockheed Martin Company to perform a risk reduction and development test of weapon lanyards for the F-35 System Development and Demonstration program at the Simulated Environment for Munitions facility. [Read more...]
More News: